I'm Coming Home
by Tharesa
Summary: Cas comes home. Post s8. Destiel.
1. Chapter 1

Sam had the radio playing as he researched in the bunker's library, and as Dean walked into the room, the song 'I'm coming home' started playing.

"Why do you listen to this crap?" Dean whined, grabbing a book from Sam's pile and sitting on the couch. Sam just shrugged.

Tell the World I'm coming...home

As the final note resonated from the stereo, there was a loud banging on the front door. The sound rang out, and then happened again. Dean and Sam looked at each other. There was a third bang, and then a muffled voice, shouting something. The brothers dropped their books, and each grabbed a gun from the table as they ascended the stairs to the entry way. They slowed as they approached the door, and Dean was about to swing it open when whoever was on the other side banged on the door again.

"Dean!" A less muffled, and very, very familiar voice hollered.

"Cas!" Dean shouted, and swung open the door, revealing the angel. But Cas looked different from last week, when Dean had last saw him. His eyes were red with fresh tears, and his scraggly beard had grown more scraggly. His trench coat was slightly torn, and he had the beginnings of shadows under his eyes.

"Cas?" Dean whispered, completely shocked at the state of his friend. Cas' bottom lip trembled slightly, and then he threw himself into the hunter's arms. He clung to Dean's jacket and buried his face into his shoulder, sobbing. Dean put his arms around Cas, and carefully guided him into the bunker so that Sam could shut the door. Sam and Dean exchanged a worried glance.

"Cas, what the hell happened to you?" Dean asked after Cas quieted.

"My g-grace." Cas wailed, shaking with sobs, "Metatron t-took it."

Dean felt fury rip through his mind. How _dare _that bastard! He had thought Cas was dead, but for an angel, this had to be worse than death.

"Oh my God." Sam whispered, clearly feeling shocked. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but Dean shot him a 'shut up or so help me' glare. Sam shut his mouth, shuffled his feet, said,

"I'll go tell Kevin." and then left.

Cas was trembling, and Dean wasn't really sure what to do. He realized that Cas was now human, and was probably feeling chaotic because of how strong his emotions were. At least he had had some experience with emotions before.

"Cas, take a deep breath. It'll be okay." He said, and Cas obeyed, focusing on breathing. Finally he steadied, stepped away, and wiped the tears off his face with his sleeve. Dean watched him, worried that he was going to start crying again. It wasn't like Cas had no reason to do so, but Dean wasn't comfortable with emotions, and he felt helpless. Cas looked at him, and although his eyes teared up again, he didn't cry.

"Dean. It's all my fault. Naomi was right, we shouldn't have trusted Metatron." He said in a broken voice.

"No, Cas it isn't your fault. Metatron used you. He's the one who caused this, not you. No one's blaming you, Cas."

Cas laughed at that. "You're wrong, Dean. I was attacked, twice, while I was trying to get here. Twice. By angels who were my friends. They all think that I did this."

Dean winced. It was true that Cas had a rocky past, especially with his own kind.

"They're the ones who are wrong. Cas, there's nothing you could have done. Metatron took your _grace _for God's sake. Once they realize that, I'm sure the others will know it wasn't you."

Cas shook his head, and a look of pity flashed across his face. "Dean, when they know he took my grace, it will only convince them more."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"They'll think I wanted to become human. On purpose."

"Why would they think that?"

"Because of you." Cas said bluntly.

"What?" Dean looked at him skeptically. "What would I have to do with you becoming human?"

"The angels know that I care about you. Naomi knew. Metatron knew. Others have seen me with you, too. They'll think I became human to be closer to you. At the cost of them."

Dean rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort and asked, "By 'you' do you mean me and Sam, or just me?"

Cas sighed. "Just you, Dean. Yes, Sam is my friend, but you mean...more to me."

They watched each other in silence; Dean wasn't sure how to respond. Had Cas just confessed love for him? Dean wasn't sure. He didn't get the chance to confirm anything, however, because Cas started trembling again.

"Let's get you downstairs." Dean said, changing the subject, and he held out his hand. Cas took it, and Dean lead him down to the living room area and had Cas sit on the couch. He put a blanket on top of him, sat next to him, and put an arm around his shoulder. Cas leaned against him, and rested his head on Dean's shoulder.

Kevin and Sam appeared then from the residence hall, and Kevin looked shocked to see Cas in his broken state.

"Hi, Kevin." Cas said quietly, adding, "Good to see you're okay."

"You too." Kevin returned, shifting his weight awkwardly. Sam folded his arms across his chest.

"So, Cas, is it too soon to ask you what happened?" He finally asked, ignoring the look Dean gave him.

"There really isn't much to tell. Metatron used a spell to cast all of the angels from Heaven. And he killed Naomi." Cas added.

"Good, I hated that bitch." Dean said.

"She tried to help us, Dean." Cas chastised. Dean shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. She hurt you. Screwed with your mind." He replied. Cas relented, knowing Dean had a point.

The group fell silent, and Kevin went back to his room after again telling Cas that it was good to see him. Sam went into the kitchen to try and make some food. Cas' eyes fluttered shut soon after, and he fell asleep. Dean rested his head on Cas', and shut his own eyes.

When Sam returned from the kitchen, he found his brother the ex-angel and in a deep sleep. Sam smiled to himself, knowing that this was the first time since the Fall that Dean was at peace. At best, during the past week, his brother had only slept three hours a night, and Sam had assumed from the get-go that it was because of Cas. Even if Dean wouldn't admit it, Sam knew he loved Cas, and that he worried about him constantly. Dean hadn't been in the best mood since the fall, yelling and being a lot more moody than usual. It was good for all of them that Cas was home.

-end-


	2. Chapter 2

Dean, Sam, Castiel, and Kevin were gathered at the table in the bunker. It had been about a week since Cas had returned, and he'd stabilized his emotions fairly well considering the short amount of time.

Sam and Kevin were sitting across from Dean and Cas. They were discussing what they had all witnessed that dreadful day. The group had hashed over ways to reverse the spell Metatron had used, but had come up with nothing. Finally Dean dropped his head onto the table in defeat. Sam was leaning on his hand, and Kevin was copying him unintentionally. Cas sat with his hands in his lap.

"I just don't get why it had to be you, Cas. Why not some other angel? You aren't the only one with a grace." Dean grumbled into the wood. Cas and Sam shrugged, but Kevin's face lit up.

"There's a connection!" He nearly shouted, causing Dean to jump and nearly fall out of his chair.

"What?" Sam asked, looking startled at the outburst as well. All three men were staring at Kevin, and the teen fidgeted while he explained.

"The first thing was the heart of a Nephil. The heart is a symbol of love, and Nephils are born from love. Then the second thing was a cupid's bow, which was also a symbol of love. So Cas' grace has to be connected through love. Right?" Kevin glanced between the three of them, looking for acceptance.

"That makes sense." Sam agreed. Dean nodded. Cas, however, was completely frozen, and his face paled considerably.

"Cas? You okay?" Sam asked, noticing the change. Cas blinked, and his blue eyes flitted between Sam and the table. Then his eyes fixed on the table as he spoke.

"You are implying that Metatron," He nearly snarled the name, "took my grace because I'm in love?"

Kevin nodded. "It would explain why no one else could help him. Somehow he knew that you liked some other angel and since you were around he used you."

Dean shot Kevin a death glare, making the teen wince and look at the table, like Cas, who didn't say anything.

Sam shook his head. "I don't think that's right."

"It sounds right to me." Dean argued for the sake of arguing.

"Not quite. Nephils are the children of angels and humans, and cupids' bows are used to make humans fall in love. I think the third step was the grace of an angel in love with a _human_. Then it adds up."

Sam explained.

"Oh." Dean whispered. They all looked to Cas, who's eyes shifted from person to person before falling back to the table.

"That does 'add up'." He said in almost a whisper.

"Cas, who is it? We can bring them here and keep them safe." Dean said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. He never would have guessed that Cas was in love; Meg hadn't been gone more than a month. And why hadn't Cas mentioned this earlier?

But Cas shook his head. "No."

"Anyone out there is in danger. We can bring them here, it'd be easy." Sam reassured him, but Cas shook his head more vigorously.

"Really, it's fine."

"Just tell us, Cas. We'll go get them. We've been in love too, ya know. We know the feeling." Dean said, glancing at Sam, who glanced back, then nodded at Cas.

Cas stood up suddenly. "I can't tell you!" He snapped, and started to walk away. Dean snatched his wrist and pulled him back. Cas glared at his feet.

"Fine, Cas. Don't tell us who it is. Whatever. But sit your ass back down." Dean growled. Cas meekly sat in the chair, but he turned his back to the others and clutched the back of the chair until his knuckles whitened.

The others went back to looking for a reversal spell, or some other method. After nearly half an hour, Cas turned around so that he was directly facing Dean. Dean turned his head to find Cas watching him.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to tell you. I...I'm afraid you would hate me if I did."

Dean scoffed and shook his head. "Cas, you've done worse shit than fall in love, and yet here you are. Try me."

Kevin glanced up from the book he was reading, his teenage-curiosity peaked.. Sam ignored the exchange altogether, too absorbed in his research. Cas opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly his throat closed up and he felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his throat. He coughed roughly, trying to breathe again.

"Cas?" Dean turned and put his hand on Cas' shoulder, shaking him slightly. The coughing caught Sam's attention, and he watched Cas, concerned.

"I'm okay." Cas' voice sounded strained.

"What happened?"

"I...think it was nerves." Cas said, recognizing the human emotion. Dean gave him a sympathetic look.

"If it's such a big deal to say it, you could write it down." He offered. Cas shook his head. He locked eyes with Dean, knowing Dean would eventually get the message. After over a minute passed, the hunter's eyes narrowed as he realized what was going on. When Cas had said Dean meant more to him...Dean had guessed right. Cas loved him.

"Me." He stated. Cas nodded slightly.

Sam suddenly made a "whoop" noise and laughed.

"I knew it!" He crowed, grinning. Kevin simply stared at Cas, stunned. Cas and Dean ignored them, and continued gazing at each other. Finally Dean spoke. Or, tried to.

"I...Cas, I..."

Cas nodded as if he understood. He had never expected Dean to feel the same way. But then, Dean leaned forward and wrapped Cas into a tight hug, and for the second time in his life, Cas hugged him back, overjoyed that Dean wasn't rejecting him.

"Dammit Cas." Dean whispered into the ex-angel's ear. Cas chuckled.

There was nothing he could do about his feelings. Cas had fallen for Dean long before they had ever known the names Metatron, Meg, or Naomi. He couldn't remember when he'd started feeling the way he did about Dean, but he did remember the time he'd recognized his feelings for what they were. The brothers had finished a hunt, and Sam was out buying food. Dean was bored, and called for Cas. Cas had been in the middle of searching for information to defeat Rafael, but he'd dropped everything when Dean called. They had simply 'hung out', as Dean had said, but Cas had truly enjoyed that day. And as he'd sat in the motel with Dean, Cas realized he could have happily spent the rest of his life 'hanging out' in motel rooms with Dean. When Cas had left, he had wanted to go back. In fact, he wished he hadn't had to have left at all. Later he wondered if he was in love with Dean, since he was acting like a lovesick puppy. Cas decided he was. And that was that. In these recent weeks, Cas had wondered, 'why me?' over and over again. Now he knew why. And he...he didn't know how he felt about that. But at least Dean knew. Dean's acceptance meant more to him than anything.

"Seriously, though? Dean? He's such a dick." Kevin finally said. Dean shot him another death glare, but this time Kevin ignored him.

Cas chuckled. "There are somethings that just can't be explained."

"True that." Dean said, and as he pulled away from the hug, he planted a light kiss on Cas' lips, making the new human blush. Dean grinned, and fought a blush of his own. He knew Sam was going to get him for this soap-opera moment later, but for once, Dean really didn't care.

-end-


End file.
